Bastei Lübbe AG sells majority stake in game developer Daedalic Entertainment

Bastei Lübbe AG sells majority stake in game developer Daedalic Entertainment

• Daedalic management acquires 41 percent of the shares as a management buy-out
• Bastei Lübbe implements concentration on the publishing business
• Minority interest of 10 percent remains with Bastei Lübbe

Cologne, 19 May 2020 - The listed public publisher Bastei Lübbe AG is selling a 41 percent share in the game developer and publisher Daedalic Entertainment at the end of May. Within the framework of a management buy-out, the managing founding partner Carsten Fichtelmann and the commercial director Stephan Harms will take over the shares.

For Bastei Lübbe, the extensive sale of its shareholding represents a further step in the concentration on the successful and profitable publishing business that began two years ago. "With the sale of a significant share of our investment, we are continuing to implement the announced corporate strategy with a clear focus on the publishing business," explains Carel Halff, CEO of Bastei Lübbe AG, the decision. "We are pleased that we have found this good solution for Daedalic together with the management. With the remaining minority interest of 10 percent we support the management buy-out and participate in future value increases."

Daedalic Entertainment is a developer and publisher of computer and video games. The company is the record winner of both the German Computer Game Award and the German Developer Award. Currently Daedalic is developing the game "The Lord of the Rings - Gollum". It is the first game to emerge from the community between Daedalic Entertainment and Middle-earth Enterprises. Based on the license agreement for "The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien, Daedalic has the possibility to publish several titles.

Daedalic achieved Record overall performance of EUR 12,926 thousand in 2019, but a negative EBIT of EUR 5,342 thousand as a result of impairment losses on internally developed games, in particular on the "A Year of Rain" game released at the end of 2019.

Carsten Fichtelmann, founder and CEO of Daedalic, says: "We are pleased that we, as Daedalic's management, can take over the shares of our majority shareholder. We promise to continue developing and marketing great games".

The sale will take place at the end of May and the deconsolidation at Bastei Lübbe in June. It was agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

About Bastei Lübbe AG:

Bastei Lübbe AG is a German publishing house with headquarters in Cologne specialised in the publication of books, audio books and e-books with fiction and popular science content. The company's core business also includes the periodically published puzzle magazines and novel magazines. With its total of twelve publishing houses and imprints, the Bastei Lübbe group of companies currently offers around 3,600 titles in the areas of fiction, non-fiction as well as books for children and young adults. In the growing segment of hardcover fiction books, the company has been one of the market leaders in Germany for many years. At the same time, Bastei Lübbe is an engine for innovation in the area of digital media and distribution channels, among other things by the production of thousands of audio and eBooks.
With annual sales of approx. EUR 95 million (financial year 2018/2019), Bastei Lübbe AG is one of the largest medium-sized publishing companies in Germany. The shares of the company have been listed in the Prime Standard segment on the Frankfurt stock exchange (GSIN A1X3YY, ISIN DE000A1X3YY0) since 2013. Further information is available at www.luebbe.com.


Contact Bastei Lübbe AG:
Barbara Fischer
Head of Press and Public Relations
Tel.: +49 221 / 82 00 28 50
E-Mail: barbara.fischer@luebbe.de